The invention relates to a device for displaying scheduled maintenance requirements for motor vehicles.
This kind of device is known from German Patent Document No. DE 201 03 279 U1. The maintenance schedule is presented as a multiposition digital date or odometer reading display. The maintenance schedule depends partly on distance driven and partly on time elapsed. The schedules for different maintenance procedures are placed above or below one another but due, for example, to a different type of scheduling (time or distance dependent), there is considerable confusion in the display.
Time-dependent maintenance procedures include changing brake fluid (e.g., every two years) and distance-dependent procedures include replacing parts subject to wear, typically brake linings. There are also maintenance procedures which depend on both distance driven and time elapsed. For example, it is recommended that engine oil be changed after a given period of time even though the predetermined mileage has not yet been reached. This is the case with vehicles with low mileage.
The present invention is directed to creating a device for displaying scheduled maintenance requirements for motor vehicles in which different maintenance procedures can be displayed in a non-confusing manner.
The invention fulfills this task with a display that has surface sections separate from one another on which information regarding the type of the procedure and information regarding the due date of the procedure is displayed for each maintenance procedure, wherein the information regarding the procedure is formed as a time line diagram and the due date is represented as a marking on the particular time line at a distance from a reference point common to the maintenance procedures corresponding to the length of time to the due date.
The present invention assigns a time line diagram to each maintenance procedure.
The due date of a time-dependent maintenance procedure can be identified by the marking on the particular time line. If the maintenance procedure is due, the distance from the common maintenance procedure reference point is minimal, preferably equal to zero. The reference point is the same as the current date in each case. If the due date is coming up soon, the distance is small. The larger the distance, the due date for the scheduled maintenance procedure is farther in the future.
The due date of a distance-dependent maintenance procedure can also be identified by the marking on an assigned time line. For this purpose, the particular distance driven is connected with the particular time driven on the basis of the total annual driving distance. A maintenance procedure which, for example, can be expected after 15,000 kilometers can be expected in 6 months when the total annual driving distance is 30,000 kilometers. For new vehicles this is derived from extrapolation of the distance driven to date.
In maintenance procedures which, like changing engine oil, are time- or distance-dependent, the due date is based on the “worst case” principle. The due date depends on the parameter (distance or time) which reaches its limit (e.g., 30,000 kilometers or 6 months) first.
Overall this makes it possible to show on the display maintenance procedures which come due based on elapsed time and/or distance driven.
One particular advantage of the present invention is that several due dates can also be represented for one maintenance procedure. In addition to a currently upcoming due date, a future due date can also be shown on the time line at a correspondingly large distance. Thus maintenance procedures which can be expected in the future can also be represented on the time line diagram at the correct time. Correct time means that the due date point can be read exactly on the time line for the particular maintenance procedure.
Overall, this also provides an overview of the maintenance status of the vehicle. If there are no maintenance procedures upcoming in the near future, this is made clear by the markings which are at a clear distance from the reference point.
Other advantageous forms of the invention include the possibility of being able to voluntarily change the display of the time for a maintenance procedure by displacing the particular marking.
It is also possible to display the predictable costs of the maintenance procedures to be performed and/or the availability of the replacement parts required for the maintenance procedure. Finally, it is also possible to vary the color representation of the markings assigned to the particular maintenance procedures according to their urgency.
For the technical implementation of each of these described procedures, the display and the assigned input element are connected to a data storage which contains the replacement parts that may be required for each procedure, the stock of these replacement parts and their purchase price. The data in the data storage are automatically read out with the selection of the maintenance procedure and reproduced in a more readable form on the display.